Succensere
by Kortamu
Summary: Set 10 yrs. postmovie. All homunculi are alive, slight AU. There is a new outbreak of murders in Central, and the culprit is yet to be found. Elysia has learned alchemy and joined the military, and when Roy visits Hughes' grave, he sees Maes. Cont. inside
1. Part One

Set 10 yrs. after movie. All homunculi and Izumi are alive, plus some other minor changes. There is a new outbreak of murders in Central, and the culprit is yet to be found. Elysia has learned alchemy and joined the army, and when Roy visits Hughes' grave, he sees Maes. It is just his imagination, or is there a new Homunculus on the loose? And if so, who created it?

Pairings: EdxOC, POSSIBLE BUT NOT SURE YET HughesStang

The title translates as "To Hold a Grudge Against", and the name 'Succen' is a play on the title word.

Disclaimer: Not mine... otherwise Hughes would... well... -shoves into closet- Actually, Grudge is mine, Succen is mine, and Kato is my friend EdoElricLover's.

Succensere

Chapter One

* * *

"All right people! I want to know everything! Anything and everything that has happened here, I will know by tomorrow!" The man finished giving the order and started to leave the murder scene. He got as far as the edge of the chalk alchemy circle before the small wired ear bud emitted a minute voice:

"Base to investigations."

"Investigations, copy." The man spoke to a radio mike sewn into his collar.

"Sir, we've run a check on the possible suspects, and there are several, based on what we know happened."

"Names, Fuery." He pushed a stray strand of gray hair behind his ear. He needed to get his hair trimmed. Fuery gave him the names of the suspects, and he made note of each in his mind. They made sense, all but the last two. He had to rule the first one out automatically, though. There was no way Edward could've done this, he was at home with his brother. Had been for several years. Ever since that day nearly ten years ago when Ed had come home, looking eighteen for all the world, he had devoted his life to living. He was twenty-eight now. He still worked for and with the military, but the last they had heard, he was in the midst of planning a shotgun wedding.

That left the rest of the list. Hohenheim, Dante, and Scar's brother were all dead. Izumi was in poor health, and Al- well, he didn't make any sense either. He was out in the boondocks, conducting research on feral cats. The tall man smirked in spite of the scene he had just witnessed. No doubt the young man would try to bring several of them home.

"Uh, sir?" Fuery's voice buzzed in the man's ear, startling him out of his reverie.

"Yes?"

Fuery frowned slightly. The chief warrant officer was getting more and more easily distracted from his duties. "Just making sure you aren't-"

He cut himself off. A pained yell came over the mike. "Sir? Sir!" Fuery struggled to be heard over the obvious struggle that was happening. A muffled voice growled something that sounded like 'never held a grudge'. "Sir, what's going on? S- Falman!" The dark-haired man yelled his superior's name just as the radio device went dead in his ear. "Falman!" The sergeant's alarm rose to fever pitch as he tried fruitlessly again and again to get Falman to respond. Finally he gave up, running out into the hall at full speed. "Sheska! Sheska, get General Mustang here _now!_"

* * *

They all attended the warrant officer's funeral. Ed showed up with his new wife, Kato, and Al made the trek along with some recently tamed cats. Most of the attendees stayed a few minutes after, until only Ed, Kato, Roy and Alphonse remained.

"Why… Why would someone do this to Falman? He never hurt anybody…" Al hung his head, tears showing in his eyes.

"I know, brother, I know…" Ed wrapped his arm around Kato's shoulders. She shivered.

"You should get inside Fullmetal, White Angel… you need to be out of the cold, especially with her current condition…" Mustang looked at the couple, noting how swollen Kato's belly had become. They nodded and paid their last respects, then left. Al placed a hand on Roy's shoulder.

"We'll be at the dorms if you need us." Roy acknowledged the comment, and soon he was alone. He stood in the cold for a while, the wind stirring his hair. Deciding that while he was here, he should visit his friend's grave, he made the short trek to the headstone marked 'Hughes'.

The General stood alone against the biting wind, thinking about his deceased best friend. What would Maes have thought about this incident? He'd have mourned Falman's passing, all the while thinking out details of the case…That's what had made him such a good detective. He could be shoving pictures of Elysia into their faces for hours, and still have all his work and more finished by the end of the day. Roy gave a sad smile at the thought.

_Where is Elysia, anyway? I didn't think she would… _"Missed it, didn't I?"

Roy whirled at the unexpected voice from behind him. A teenage girl was approaching from the direction he had come. She was dressed in black, for mourning, and her sandy blonde hair was pulled back into low pigtails. She stepped up beside Roy, her green eyes shining with tears as she looked at her father's grave. "I wish Daddy could be here…" she intoned quietly.

"So do I," the general replied. He could tell she was antagonizing about her missing son even more, though. "I've set more people on the case. They haven't found much, but we can always hope for the best."

"Yeah." Elysia bit her lip and shifted a little. "Mom couldn't come."

"I see that."

"She's sick."

Roy nodded. He watched out of the corner of his eye as his goddaughter shifted again, this time laying a hand on the stone. The granite slab's corner started to bubble and shape, until a small stone rose had bloomed out of it. Elysia smiled wanly, then bid Mustang farewell and left.

The black-haired man watched her go, then returned his attention to the grave, namely the rose. He was glad that Elysia had learned alchemy; she was invaluable around the offices. She reminded them all so much of her father, especially when she left random pictures of her son around the place. The blonde didn't shove them in everyone's faces and yell all the time like Maes had, but she was definitely her father's daughter.

Though Elysia was sixteen, she had a three-year-old son due to an incident with her first boyfriend. Succen's father was currently on the other side of the country as enforced by a restraining order signed by General Mustang himself. In an effort to support the child without encumbering Gracia, the girl had learned alchemy as extensively as she could, then joined the military. That had been a year ago.

Succen had gone missing about a month ago, days before the newest string of murders had started. It was believed that the same person had taken him, and though there was hope, it was scarce. Mustang missed the child as much as he missed Hughes.

"I'm sorry, my friend… I guess your family is just doomed to face tragedy." Roy told the rose, stuffing his hands in his coat pockets.

"Isn't she just beautiful?" This time the approaching person didn't startle Roy. It was what he had said that unnerved him.

"What?"

"My little girl, of course. And yes, I suppose we are prone to drama." The man who spoke was tall, about an inch taller than Roy. He wore a long trench coat, the collar obscuring most of his face, and his dark hair was trimmed short. He adjusted his glasses. Roy could only stare. His gaze flickered to the tombstone, and back to the man. He could just make out the eye color…

He took a sharp breath. No, his vision must be playing tricks on him. It couldn't be… he looked at the granite slab again. "Maes…?" He looked back, and tears sprang to his eyes.

He was alone in the graveyard.

* * *

"Did it work?"

"Yes. I'm as immune as Wrath, if not more so." The man took off his trench coat, depositing it in a chair. He smirked. This would be easier than he had anticipated. As he passed by a mirror in the apartment the Homunculi shared, he stopped to study his reflection.

His clothing was the usual homunculus black, but the lower half vaguely resembled a military uniform with red trim instead of white. He wore black slacks, boots, and a waistband similar to Envy's. His tank was also black; a large red spot was positioned between his collarbones, and the strips went from it to a circle on each shoulder, then continued from there to a convergence in the small of his back. Another one ran from the spot on his collarbone to another just above his navel; the last went from spots on Grudge's wrists to ones on the inner joints at his elbows.

His right hand, the palm of which carried an ouroboros, smoothed out his near-black hair, but a strand of his bangs fell in front of his single purple eye. The other eye was a yellowish gold color, and along with his goatee, remained the most obvious of the traits leftover from his previous life. Both pupils were feline, though.

"So Lust was right. How convenient for you, Grudge." Envy smiled from his place on the couch.

"Yes, this will prove to be an advantage on our part." Sloth mumbled, her voice drifting quietly. "Where are you going?"

"I have some business to attend to on behalf of my daughter."

"But she's not-" Envy started. He quieted at the icy daggers Grudge had literally thrown at him. They were quickly retrieved.

"I'll be back."

* * *

To be continued


	2. Part Two

Succensere

Chapter Two

When Grudge arrived in Xenotime, the first thing he did was to search the memories passed from his creator, in order to find his target. He located the boy in a school some two miles from his current position. Finding a place to lay low, he waited, a plan formulating in his mind.

Not much later, that plan was in motion.

Grudge watched the boy he was tracking leave the school grounds, then followed him a little while. He saw into the blonde's mind, discovering and calculating all of his past bad experiences, namely those strongest and freshest in his mind. This one's mind was chaos, much like anyone's, but he harbored fewer dark thoughts than most. The best one was from third grade, according to the memory.

_"Jake!"_

_A boy, about ten years old, was following him. Jake kept going, hoping to get home before too long. This was the day his mom got home early, and if he could get there before-_

_"Hey, Jake, I called your name, you baby." The older, dark-haired boy grabbed the eight-year-old by the shoulders, and stopped him abruptly. "You know you're supposed to listen to your elders." He scowled at the blonde._

_"Let go! Leave me alone!" Jake tried to push him off, but had no luck. Instead, he got pushed to the ground. His bag ripped and his things scattered all over the ground, including his favorite stuffed dog. He went to grab that first, but the older boy picked it up. _

_"What is this? You baby! Hey guys, come look at the baby's wittle toy!" He laughed, and he proceeded to fling all of the younger child's possessions everywhere. He found as many mud puddles as possible, and threw Jake into each of them whenever he tried to make him stop. Soon the dark-haired boy's friends joined in, and for nearly a half hour, they jeered at him and pushed him around._

_Finally Jake got tired of it and ran away, crying loudly, their jeers of "Yeah, you stupid four-eyed baby, you better run!" and "Don't forget your stupid mutt!", along with others, following him home._

_The next day he found that his desk at school was covered in his muddy papers and on top of the pile, the stuffed puppy gazed at him sadly with one eye, two legs gone, and a gash in its belly. Stuffing adorned the pile and the floor around it. The teacher took him home, but he never told who did it. _

_He wanted his own revenge._

"Hmm," Grudge smirked, and waited until they were close to Jake's house. It was a different town, but much the same in layout. The blonde's friends departed to their own houses, and Jake continued another block.

"Jake!"

The boy kept going. He had to get home to help his mother make dinner before work.

"Hey, Jake! I'm talking to you, blondie!"

This time, said blondie did turn around. A tall man was about a half-block away from him. He frowned, but asked, "What?"

"You have a son, correct?" The man stopped a few feet from Jake.

"What are you talking about?" Jake said quickly. He had never seen this man before, he was sure of it. So how would he know about Succen? "I don't-"

The man stepped forward. "Does the name 'Elysia' ring a bell?"

Jake blinked. Wracking his brain for an answer, he wondered who the hell this guy was. Deciding he was better off not knowing, he turned around and kept going. "Whoever the hell you are, I don't know you, so have a nice day." he threw the sentence over his shoulder.

"Don't forget your stupid mutt." As soon as the words left the man's mouth, a stuffed toy appeared on the ground in front of Jake, covered in mud and ripped in several places. He recognized it, and stopped dead cold. Though the sentence had been softly spoken, it awakened memories Jake couldn't stand. An unwilled tear came to his eye. "You know where that kid is now, don't you?"

Jake could hear the smirk. "Who the fuck are you?" He rounded on the man, intending to attack him, but found himself face to face with him. He lost all nerve and turned again, this time heading for his home, but skidded to a stop at the sight he was greeted with. A broken body lay on the ground, blood staining his sidewalk. Both legs were broken, and one of the teenage boy's arms was popped out of the shoulder socket.

He let out a yell at the remembered image, then turned into the alley. He stopped a few blocks from his house, hoping the guy hadn't followed him here. No such luck.

"Anyway," The man said nonchalantly, "You must know who I a-" He stooped for a moment, then continued. "-was. Don't tell me-" He cut himself off again. When Jake tried to run one direction, he found a knife embedded in the wall inches from his face. Same with the other direction. Soon he was surrounded by the small weapons. "Now please don't make me waste the last one on killing you."

Jake gulped.

"So, you say you don't have a kid, huh? Yet my daughter's name rings a lot of bells, I can tell." Jake's eyes widened as he finally realized who he was talking to. But all the pictures Elysia had shown him were of her and her mom, not… "Ah. Now you know." The man smirked, his hand absently playing with the blade. "Yup. The one picture that Fullmetal took of all three of us together. I'd like to know what happened to it." He stepped forward, effectively pinning the now cowering blonde.

"P-please, don't-" There were tears in his blue eyes.

"Shut up," Grudge growled. "I hear you had some fun at my little girl's expense," his eyes narrowed.

"Bu- but you're dea-"

"Do I look dead to you? Oh, and as for that kid you maimed, he's fine. He would, I'm sure, still be holding that grudge." the homunculus brought his small dagger up to examine.

"Please, I… I…" Jake started blubbering.

"You know, you're supposed to listen to your elders. This-" grudge pressed the knife to the teen's throat, making a very shallow cut. "-is for the kid." He stepped back, and allowed Jake to regain his composure.

The blonde straightened against the wall, but hadn't stopped crying. He had thought the man was going to kill him. He seriously had started to feel bad for everything, all the wrong he had done…

"And this," Grudge stated, and from across the alley, he scowled; in one swift motion, he launched the last dagger toward Jake, who had nowhere to move, and it struck him in the chest, sailing right through the ribcage and into his heart. "-is for breaking my daughter's heart." The boy blubbered for a few more seconds, then slid down the wall lifelessly.

* * *

Fullmetal sighed. He would have to leave his new wife here, and though he wasn't worried about her safety or anything, he didn't want to leave her alone when she was so close to term. Plus, he had no idea when the investigation party would be back.

"Edo," he turned to face the person who had used his pet name. "I'll be fine, dear," She looked at him and he saw the happiness shining through her aquamarine eyes. She kissed him goodbye, and he gave her one last hug before boarding the train. He found the car where Al, Mustang, and Elysia awaited him.

The four alchemists were to be the investigation team on Falman's case. The first place they would go would be to visit the Elrics' teacher, to ask as few questions as they needed. They didn't even want to interrogate her, as she was incapable of committing the crime and that much was obvious, but there was a quota to fill. They had to at least talk to her, if only to say that they had.

The next place they went was to Xenotime to check up on the latest murder- the murder of Succen's father. As hated as he was, they all knew it would be a major lead, in both Succen's disappearance and in what were being called, as original as it was, the 'Stalker Murders'. It seemed that the killer knew everything about each person he -or she- killed.

Right now they were stepping off the train at Xenotime. The Elric brothers got off first, then The Flame and The Timeless Alchemist followed. Elysia was called so because anything she created lasted through anything that it was put through; the general couldn't even incinerate a piece of paper if she had created it.

"So, what first?" The blonde girl asked, fixing her shirt. She, like Ed, had no interest in wearing a military uniform. She wore whatever sparked her interest at the time.

"We head to the hotel, drop our shit off, and find this bastard." Ed stated simply, heading toward said hotel.

* * *

To be continued


	3. Part Three

Succensere

Chapter Three

"So," Roy stated, "All you saw was…" the dark-haired man's voice drifted away as Elysia walked away from him and the woman he was interrogating. She approached the wall of the scene, where blood streaked the stone. There were indents and chips in the wall in about twelve different places surrounding the streak, which led to where the body had been found. It was on a covered cart now.

The blonde went to the cart that the body rested on, and taking a deep breath to calm herself, pulled back the cloth. Jake's eyes had been closed, though it did nothing to improve the look of horror that was etched into his features. The sight of his face after all this time startled her. It amazed her how much her son had looked like his father. Elysia shook herself mentally; this was no time to be having flashbacks. She looked at the fatal wound, inspecting it for evidence.

She found what she was looking for.

Holding back an indignant squawk of anger, Elysia pulled the thirteenth of her father's throwing knives out of Jake's chest. "Dammit, he's going to have to be more careful…" She breathed, cleaning the blade off with the cloth the body was covered in. "Don't leave them just lying around, Dad! They can't know you're here-" She trailed off, looking closer at the blade. There was something etched into it. She frowned, not liking it. "This isn't good at all…"

"Find anything?" Elysia heard a soft chuckle as she jumped, and spun to see Al watching her progress. Hoping he hadn't seen anything, she slipped the knife into her pocket. She would look at it later, in the bathroom at the hotel.

"Ah -not anything we don't already know," she nervously told the other blonde. He went to the body, and covered it back up.

"Well," The man said softly, rearranging the blanket, "the general wants us to head back to the hotel and review the evidence we have, see if this one is connected to Falman or any of the other Stalker Murders."

"I don't see how it would be." They headed back to the group.

"Well, the thing is… all the suspects in the case Falman was investigating… they've got a connection."

"What's that?"

"They've all been successful in performing a human transmutation." Al paused. "And since we've concluded that all the suspects are either dead or dying, that means someone else has tried it- and if the substances found at the first site are any indication, then they've succeeded. We just have to find out who they are, and where the homunculus is."

Elysia frowned. That would mean they'd be looking for connections between the murders. Another thing she didn't like. "Well, that might be kinda hard," she would've stopped there, but Al gave her a questioning look. "We can't even be sure it's all been the same guy."

"That's what we're checking out first," Al said. His tone indicated that he thought that she should already know this.

"Hurry up, guys, we need to get back to the rooms!" Ed hurried them into the car.

No one talked on the way there. They stayed in this companionable silence until the door was locked and everyone had their own pot of coffee. It would be a long night.

* * *

Ed looked at the clock. He had been dreading committing the act, but eventually gave in to the urge to know what time it was. It read three in the morning.

"So," he summed up, "We know it's all the same guy." Everyone nodded. "And we know that he's got murder on the mind. Yet, we have no weapons, and Hawkeye isn't here to tell us what they might be. But it must be something small, otherwise it would've been noticed. We also know that this guy isn't an alchemist, and that he can either read minds-" He paused, taking a sip of his coffee. "-or he stalks his victims."

"As odd as it sounds, Brother, I would bet on the former. Given the things we know he knew, and the time span he killed these people in, he would have to have a couple doppelgangers in the works. Or he can read minds."

"Or he's an alchemist, but as I said, there's no alchemical residue at the scenes. Unless he just hasn't used it yet, he's not one of us." Ed countered.

"But you guys said you thought he might be a homunculus." Elysia interjected. "We all know that they have weird powers. Who knows what they can do?" _Hopefully enough to stay away from us… I don't like helping them track you down, but you left me no choice. If I don't, they'll think something's up._

Roy nodded. "This is true." He thought back to the incident at the graveyard. It troubled him constantly. Who had he really seen out there? Mustang didn't like the feeling of it, whatever had happened. "If it is another one, who could have made it? And why? From whom?" Roy caught Ed glancing at the clock again. "I think we should all go to bed for now. Maybe some sleep will give us some ideas as to what the hell is going on."

* * *

Envy accosted Grudge as soon as he entered the building. "What the hell were you thinking? Why would you ever even _think_ of leaving evidence? I have half a mind to-"

"We all know how much mind you have, Envy." Sloth cut the verdant-haired homunculus off. She and Lust were sitting on the couch of the homunculi's apartment.

"Grudge, Envy does have a point," Lust pointed out. "There was no reason for you to leave that knife in the boy."

Grudge stood motionless as they stared at him. He blinked once, distributed his weight more evenly, and looked Envy straight in the eye. "I wanted to tell my daughter something. Just a few things that ran through my mind before the last breath left my first body. A couple details about the life that _you_ so graciously _ended. _And no," he stated, narrowing his oppositely colored eyes at the smaller homunculus and closing the gap between them, "I haven't, nor will I ever, let go of _that_ grudge." The promise ended in a growl that made Envy's red stone skip a beat.

"All right, boys, no fighting, now. We have duties to attend." Lust pushed the two homunculi apart and sat Grudge down in the chair opposite the couch. She left Envy standing, and resumed her own seat. "But first, can you be sure that Elysia would have been the one to find the knife? What if it had been Fullmetal?" She continued softly, cautiously, "What if it had been the general?"

Grudge hadn't been prepared for that. "Well… I… He wouldn't have been that close to the body… he-" The young homunculus fumbled for an answer, eventually looking at the ground when he couldn't meet her gaze.

"It's been ten years, Grudge. People change. I suggest you think about that next time." She gave him one last stern glance, then briefed them on their next step in the plan. As soon as she was finished, Grudge took off. He needed to be alone for a while.

He shook his head. He actually had been thinking of the general. A lot. It was odd that he'd still have the feelings of his previous life… Yet, he didn't mind. There had been plenty left for him to sort out after he had died as Hughes. He just hadn't expected that he would have a chance to come back. _I guess it's lucky my little girl learned alchemy. I always knew she would grow up so beautiful!_ In his mind, he pictured himself and what he would've been doing while saying that- dancing around whatever room he was in and scaring the hell out of people in the process.

He turned a corner. He smiled at the thought, not because of himself, but because of the people he would've scared, whether it was real or not. Wondering why he had never seen the pleasure in terrorizing others, Grudge made a decision. He would go see the general. He would talk to his friend.

He would see if Roy was still hard to spook.


	4. Part Four

Warnings: Very slight RoyxOC... but thats it, really... Maybe a lemon in one of the next chappies, definitely one before the end!

Succensere

Chapter Four

* * *

Roy tossed and turned in bed for about an hour before he got sick of it and decided to take a walk. He needed to clear his head anyway. Slipping his trench coat on, the raven-haired man stepped lightly to avoid waking the others, and made his way outside.

He looked up at the moon. It had a few nights to go before it would be full. The stars shone brightly and happily lit his way down the path. Roy walked along, taking in everything he saw. For a little while he avoided thinking about Hughes, but the man kept popping into his mind. He missed his friend dearly. Though it had been more than thirteen years, Roy still hadn't gotten over Maes' death.

It was a while before he realized he had left the city and was walking in the darkened countryside. Roy kept going anyway; he figured that if someone was going at attack him here, then they were fools. The Flame Alchemist bit his lip to keep it from quivering as the day at the graveyard came to mind.

He knew what he had seen… or so he thought. He should have recognized the voice, too. Why had he seen Hughes that day? Perhaps it was just the state of mind he had been in. He smiled grimly at a seemingly random memory of his younger days, before he and Hughes had joined the military.

__

"What?" Roy asked half-heartedly. He had been staring at the counter of the two's favorite bar, but his head snapped up at the sound of his comrade's voice. His gaze remained locked on the wood. He knew he had heard Hughes say something, but the content of the sentence had somehow slipped past his eardrums. He looked at the other man.

"I said, I'm getting married!" Maes exclaimed happily. He pulled a picture out of his pocket, shoving it at Mustang. "See? This is the look on her face when I proposed! My Gracia was so happy!" He made a frightening imitation of the face his new fiancée had made in the picture. "Somebody else took it for me, otherwise it would've been much better. See, the lighting…" The bespectacled young man continued on, but his speech went unheard.

All that had registered in Roy's mind was a single word. He took a swig of his beer, to give himself something to do. More importantly, to avoid saying something he didn't want to say. "Th-" -he showed a crooked grin to the tabletop, cutting Maes off mid-sentence- "That's great, man. Good luck, my friend. I would stay longer, but I have some …stuff… to do at home. I'll be seeing ya." He patted Hughes on the back, and stood up, reaching into his pocket for some money to pay for his beer.

His hand hit a small box, and he stopped. His mouth hung open a little bit, and his stopped breathing for a second; he continued to stare into space. "Hey, buddy, I'll get it," Maes said, misinterpreting Roy's expression and unknowingly saving the other male from utter humiliation, lest he had burst into tears in the middle of the bar while attempting to speak. "You can pay me back later."

Roy simply nodded, the blank expression never leaving his face as he headed out the door. He had remained numb until he opened the door to the apartment the two shared. Mustang could feel the warm tears streaking down his cheeks. Taking a shuddering breath, he finally screwed up the nerve to pull his hand, still closed around the box, out of his pocket.

He slowly opened it up, revealing the silver ring that was nestled into the plushy holder. He brushed his right thumb over it, then pulled it out. Roy sat on his bed, contemplating the ring, the box eventually dropping unnoticed. He tried his best to keep control of his emotions, but the tears kept coming, and they kept switching from angry to heartbroken, and back again. He sat in the silence of the small apartment, and let his world, all his hopes, dreams and plans for the future fall apart, unnaturally, agonizingly slowly.

"No matter… how, how hard, or, or… wrong it would've been…" He mumbled, in halting fragments, to the room, "I, I… I would've- I would've stuck it out with you…" Mustang stopped, his throat closing up faster than he thought possible, and caught a shuddering breath before continuing, "I- I guess that's what I… get… for thinking you could have e- ever lo- lo…" The man couldn't say the word. "Liked me back." His voice cracked, and Roy allowed himself to cry for a while, squeezing his eyes closed, his grip on the ring weakening.

But he never let go of it.

Roy would **never** let go.

He didn't notice that he had stopped, or that a salty line had wound its way down his face. Roy didn't realize that he wasn't alone anymore. All he could do was play with the silver ring on his right ring finger. His promise ring. "I didn't get a chance to keep that promise…" He stated, letting the wind carry the sad declaration away.

He sighed, and looked around himself, deciding to head back. Roy had scarcely taken two steps before he was stopped by a voice. "I thought you believed in second chances, Roy."

He knew that voice. But no, It couldn't be… He whirled around in order to prove himself wrong.

He had never before wanted to be wrong so badly.

The sight that greeted him made his jaw drop. Mustang knew he had to be seeing things. Yet, it was impossible to hallucinate the same thing twice… Wasn't it? He poised his fingers to snap, and asked warily, "What do you want?"

The other person smirked, his glasses catching the moonlight. He had his hands in his pockets, and from his stance, Roy gathered that he knew what he was doing. "You don't need to toast me," he said, coming forward. He kept moving as he talked, and Roy backed up as he got closer. "Please don't tell me you've forgotten me already, Mustang?"

Roy found himself back to back with a large tree. He tried to swallow the lump in his throat. "B-but you c-can't be- you- you… Envy-" He knew he was falling apart despite himself, and he hated it.

"Yes, he did," Grudge said softly, stepping even closer and taking Roy's right hand in one of his. He pulled the glove off, ignoring the near-panic state the other man was in. he pulled the now clammy hand between their faces and examined the ring with slight interest. "And my beautiful little girl brought me back. Too bad for Succen -that was his name, no?- but he's fine now. On the other side of the gate." The homunculus pressed closer.

"Th- then…" Roy panted out, "You're…"

Grudge met Mustang's eyes with his own mismatched ones. "…A homunculus, yes," He smiled slowly, and took hold of Roy's other hand, crossing the man's wrists and pinning them over the general's head.

The onyx-eyed man's mind was spinning. His breath came in short bursts, and he knew why, but didn't want to admit it. What was going on? Why would Elysia even think of bringing her father back? She should've known it wouldn't really be Hughes…

"Second chances, Roy…" Grudge drawled in his ear, his body flush with the smaller man's. Mustang's breath hitched, but he didn't get a chance to draw another one. The homunculus's lips closed over his own, and his eyes slid shut. He felt a tongue run over his lower lip; he opened up, his tongue meeting with Grudge's, the other male's figure crushing him against the trunk of the tree. He let out an involuntary whimper when the homunculus pulled away, but was grateful for the air. Grudge bit Roy's lower lip before he met his gaze again.

"B- but you're not Maes… You'll never be him…" He mumbled softly, though he knew he didn't care.

"So?" Grudge whispered. "They call me Grudge, because I never forget…" He kissed Roy again, softly. "I'm close enough…" The homunculus didn't care what the others would think; he had finally gotten the chance to tell Mustang what he had wanted to, all those years ago…

"Roy, I… I have to tell you," Roy could feel the Grudge's breath on his neck. "I… when I proposed to Gracia… I was running from myself. I did love her, but... Not like I loved you... and I never got to tell you... That's the one thing I want to forget, but I can't. I- I'm so sorry, Roy," He finished, his voice barely above a whisper.

"It's okay," Roy lied. He closed his eyes, and captured the homunculus's lips with his own, their tongues dancing in a rhythm only they could understand. Grudge's free hand slowly slid from Mustang's thigh, over his hip, to under his shirt, his thumb rubbing small circles over the skin.

"Wow. Now this is something I didn't expect to see."

Roy's eyes snapped open, and both men froze. All Roy could make out in the darkness was blonde hair before blue alchemic light blinded him.

* * *

To be continued.


	5. Part Five

Succensere

Chapter Five

"Shit!" Roy yelled, and felt himself being pushed out of the way, his arm landing underneath him. There was a snap, and a surge of pain fled his wrist in favor of his shoulder. When he looked up, he saw Grudge getting up to face the alchemist who had attacked them. The homunculus seemed unharmed.

"What the hell?" exclaimed said alchemist, surprise evident on his face. He nimbly dodged the daggers that were thrown at him, and charged Grudge, who barely evaded the attack. A flick of his wrist brought the daggers back to him, and he launched another assault. This time the flurry of blades centered around the blonde's arm, effectively shredding it. While the boy was screaming in pain, Roy was aided in his attempt to sit up. He inhaled sharply when Grudge picked up his arm to inspect it.

"It's not that bad. Get the fuck out of here," Mustang told the homunculus. He kept a stern look when the man's countenance faltered.

Grudge said nothing, but he didn't move. Roy leaned forward, left a light kiss on his lips, then started to push him away.

"Get away from the general!" Both men looked in time to see the boy clap, causing the earth in front of Mustang -and under the homunculus- to heave and throw Grudge several yards away. He started to get up, but another mound of soil formed a great fist and came crashing down on him, sending blood everywhere, and pinning him down. It was hard to tell, but Mustang knew he wasn't dead. Yet. "You better not move again, or I swear I'll-" The blonde cut off mid-sentence, and formed another earthen fist.

"Alphonse, stop!"

Al turned to Roy, who was using the tree as a support to get up. He held his injured left arm with his right, and slid up the trunk as fast as friction would allow. The blonde held the same determined look as his brother. "Why should I? He would've hurt you! I was only trying to help-"

"Just stop. You've helped enough." Mustang could hear the contempt in his voice, and was surprised to hear it, especially when it was Alphonse he was talking to. He made his way over to where the boy had Grudge pinned, feeling Al stiffen and ready himself for battle. Roy wanted to tell him he didn't need, to, but kept the comment to himself.

Before he got there, the large earthen fist thumped loudly on the ground, immediately crumbling, as if it had lost its support. He snapped, creating a small ball of fire, and realized it had. The place was soaked in blood, but Hughes' reincarnation was nowhere to be found.

* * *

_"I thought you believed in second chances, Roy."_

The presence of the other male's voice lingered in Roy's mind long after he and Alphonse had returned to the hotel. It had remained as the group packed, stayed with him during the train ride home, and still hadn't left after he returned to the office the next day.

The simple statement haunted him as he looked at the girl that had created this -well, monster was the best term for it, but somehow he couldn't bring himself to call Grudge that. It had turned into an accusation when he confronted her about it. She had said simply, through teary eyes, that she had 'Wanted daddy back.'

Mustang had dismissed Elysia, putting her under house arrest until he could figure the entire thing out. He had told no one but her why, and none of the others involved really knew what was going on. They were told to just follow orders and maybe he would answer their questions later.

They all knew he wouldn't.

And right now, as the general looked at the forms he would have to sign in order to officially accuse the blonde girl of attempting a human transmutation, he heard the words over and over again in his head.

_"I thought you believed in second chances, Roy."_

It was true. He had given Fullmetal a second chance. He had given Maes one, after the man had gotten married and left him heartbroken.

_"I thought you believed in second chances…"_

That had been his rule for the longest time, until Hughes had died. Then nothing stopped him from doing what he wanted. Including firing people -sometimes literally- for the smallest things.

_"I thought you believed…"_

He did. He did believe, especially in the power of persistence. He believed that he would have been able to make things work with Maes, had he been given the chance.

_"I thought…"_

That's what he got for thinking. This is what he got for settling for 'someday', for not just taking the chance while he had it. Here he was, beating himself up over not doing it then, when he had a second chance to make everything right between him and Maes…

But this wasn't Maes. This was not the man he had fallen for, often literally. It was an empty shell which had no place in this world. He wasn't really a second chance, just a new possibility.

Wasn't he?

Roy put the pen to the paper beside the 'X' which told him where to sign.

"You sure have been emo since you got back."

He had started to move the small utensil, but jumped and left a large scratch across the paper, screwing up the 'u' in his last name, when he heard a voice. "Even more so than when Hughes died. If that's possible."

"Excuse me?" Roy looked up from his paperwork, trying to cover it up inconspicuously. It didn't work. Jean ignored the gesture, anyway.

"It's just you seem to be more down than usual. I miss the jackass that used to sit here and bark orders all day." He took a drag from his cigarette, and sat on the edge of Roy's desk. He looked at Mustang expectantly, and when the general said nothing, he scoffed. "See? In the good old days you would've toasted me for even talking to you in the first place, let alone attempting to look at your personal space. Or sitting in it."

What was Havoc babbling about…? Roy let a slightly confused expression creep over his face, and Havoc shook his head.

"And you never would have made that face."

"Remind me why you're talking to me."

"Just finding out how much cheering up you need, man." Jean got up and puffed on his cigarette.

"And how much is that?" Roy asked blandly, shuffling papers around on his desk in an attempt to look busy.

"More than we expected." the lanky man stated, then left.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Roy asked the room. He looked at his desk, but he had forgotten what he was doing before Havoc invaded his office.

* * *

Elysia sighed. She had been found out. Not that she cared, but she hadn't wanted this to happen quite yet.

It was supposed to have happened something like this: she would make the homunculus, firstly to rid her of the kid, but mainly to see if she could make a weapon out of the result. Something to kill Mustang with. If anyone else died that she hated, that would be a plus, but her main target was the general. Not only had he never caught her father's killer, he wouldn't let her do it. Roy had refused her of any vengeance, any opportunity for closure.

She had to get him out of the way.

But no, Grudge had to be a dumb creature and have _feelings_ for the raven-haired man. Elysia didn't want to think that her father might have been the real source of those feelings. He had to go and kill everyone but the one she wanted dead the most. And now he had allowed her to get caught.

The blonde pulled out the dagger she had retrieved from Jake's body. She looked at the engraving again, and shook her head. This fake human was more dumb than she thought. Her mother entered the room, and Elysia shoved the dagger into her pocket, nicking herself in the process.

"Ow," She muttered, and when Gracia asked about it, she smiled and said, "Just a paper cut, mom. What'cha need?"

"Oh, I was just wondering if you could help me in the kitchen, dear," she said with a small smile of her own.

"Sure!" Elysia grinned, and followed Gracia out of the room.

She doubted her mother was aware that they were being watched.

* * *

To be continued


	6. Part Six

Succensere

Chapter Six

"Well, Grudge, there you go. You've officially screwed it up." Envy stated. He was sitting outside the Hughes' house, currently in the form of a bush. There was a rustling to his left, but he ignored it, intent on finding out everything about his newest 'brother's' creator. The homunculi already knew pretty much everything, but they needed to maker sure of the validity of the facts. The rustling got closer, and more interested in him. Envy looked just in time to see a large husky lift its leg.

"GAH! NO!" Envy formed legs and scooted away, only to be pursued by the dog. He decided that this stake-out was over, and took off down the street at an all-out run, the husky in hot pursuit.

Envy swore he would never spy as a bush again.

By the time he escaped the dog, he was so far past his destination that he had to backtrack. Shifting into his preferred form, the green-haired homunculus made for the apartment building. When he stepped inside, he took one look at the others and told them to shut up.

* * *

"Serves him right," Grudge commented once Envy had headed for the shower. He was still smiling when the other male returned. "So, what's the report?"

"Why should I even tell you? You're not the one-"

"It concerns all of us, retard," Wrath blurted from the corner. "If she had the power to make him, we could use her instead of the Fullmetal Freak."

"Besides, we need to know if she had a real reason for doing it." Sloth added, sitting forward in her seat. "If so, we might be able to use that to our own ends."

"Well, from what I gathered, it would definitely suit her. But the forecast wouldn't be all that great for me," Envy said, taking a seat on the couch arm next to Lust. "Unless we used me as bait."

"So, what did she bring me back for?" Grudge asked, knowing full well that she hadn't just wanted her daddy back. He wouldn't admit it until he had to, though.

"She wants to kill me," Envy said.

"We all know this. Now stop being the center of attention." Greed said impatiently.

He gave the other homunculus a glare, but continued, "But Mustang won't let her. She created you, " Envy said, and turned to meet Grudge's gaze for effect. He wanted this to hurt as much as it could. "So you would kill Roy."

It wasn't the completely desired effect, but close enough. The young homunculus still had feelings for the general, Envy -as well as the others- knew. This new information, in conflict with his admiration for his one-time daughter, would surely make him rethink his loyalties.

Grudge's jaw dropped slightly, and his gaze shifted beyond Envy. "But- she knows I… I mean, I knew she didn't just want her father back, but… but still, she- why Roy?" His brows furrowed in confusion, and he bit his lip, looking to the eldest for an answer.

"I just told you." He rolled his eyes. "Mustang is in the way of her revenge. I think your sweet little baby girl turned bitter."

"Shut up! Don't you ever even fucking dare-" Grudge stood up to face Envy, who smirked at his sudden flare of anger.

"What? Tell you the truth?" Envy stood as well, eye to eye with the other male at his full height. "Do you think you could ever really do anything against me? Besides, why would I lie to you? My loyalties lie with the homunculi, with the cause-"

Grudge smirked. "You'd lie to anybody to get your father's attention. He never did really notice you, did he?" He smiled for real at Envy's sudden draining of color. "Ah. A soft spot, eh? Though I suppose I'd never have forgiven him either, what with him preferring Edward over his firstborn-"

Envy drove his fist into the side of Grudge's face, sending him back a few steps. "Don't you ever-" The thinner male struck again, this time to knock the other down, "-say _that_ name-" he shifted form, choosing a panther, and pounced on Grudge, digging in viciously with all of his claws. "-in my presence again!" he growled, latching onto the newest homunculus' neck with his feline jaws. He crunched down, ignoring the dagger in his side, and twisted his head, snapping the spine.

"That's enough, Envy, he's not as strong as you. He's only got enough red stone to regenerate a few times, then we've lost a good power source." The eldest of the group heard Lust's voice, and reluctantly listened to her. She was right. He licked his whiskers clean before changing back, then pulled the blade from his side, wincing as the wound healed.

The homunculi sat in silence as they waited for Grudge to regenerate. Once he had stood and cracked his joints with a succession of pops and cracks, he simply said "Bastard," to Envy and walked out with no indication of where he was headed.

* * *

Mustang opened his door with a heavy sigh. He was greeted as usual with a large, empty house. He had no pets, there would be no time to give them the attention they needed. He made his way through the darkness, having made sure to lock the door, into the kitchen.

There, he blinked back the temporary blindness resulting from his opening the refrigerator door. He pulled out his crisper drawer, and randomly grabbed a vegetable and bit into it. After inspecting his wrist for the millionth time, he finally realized that it had, in fact, healed completely. It had been that way since he had accompanied Al back to the hotel nearly a week ago. In order to save his gloves from the tomato juice that would soon be covering his hand, he took them off and put them on a side table in the living room. He made a round of his house, the headed upstairs as he finished off the tomato.

When Roy reached his room, he opened the door with his non-sticky hand, and finished licking the juice from his finger on the other. He stripped off his shirt, and wiped his hand off for the final time with it, then tossed it in the corner. He shoved his shoes off, then flopped into the mess of blankets that were scattered on his bed.

Mustang realized he hadn't made his bed in a very long time. He found himself thinking about his actions since Hughes had been murdered. "Wow," he muttered into his pillow. "I really have been on autopilot for a while." When was the last time he had been to the bar? The last time he had had a date, or done anything that took more than physiological motivation?

He still had motivation, right? He was going to be Fuhrer, after all. Wasn't he? "No more thinking, please." Mustang pleaded with his mind.

He had no clue when he had fallen asleep, but it was still dark when he woke up. "Wha-?" He mumbled. There was another lump in his bed. "That wasn't there before." Roy poked the lump tentatively, and it groaned and moved a little. "Hey." He poked it again. _Shouldn't I be more alarmed? _Roy asked himself. _Oh well, if I die then I'll have a reason not to do anything. _he gave the lump one last poke, sitting up to do so, and he realized he recognized it.

"Grudge, get the hell up," Roy shoved the homunculus off the side of the bed, where he fell with a great thud. _That explains my lack of fear. He wouldn't hurt me, obviously, or I'd be dead already._

Roy looked over the edge of the bed. The man was still asleep. Roy was wide awake now, whether he liked it or not. He shook the homunculus by the shoulder, and called his name.

Grudge mumbled something relative to pink ponies and fried butterflies, but still didn't wake up. He still wore his glasses, and they were askew on his sleeping face. Roy reached down to pull them off and put them out of harm's way, but the man's hand on his wrist stopped him.

"No touchy glasseses …es…" the homunculus mumbled sleepily as he sat up. "I'm 'wake…" he rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger, then looked up at Roy. "How'd I get down here?" He looked confused.

Mustang propped his torso up with his elbows, and his chin on his intertwined fingers. "How did you get in here?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. He didn't really mind that the man had dropped in, he just wanted to know how he hadn't noticed.

"Window's open." Grudge pointed groggily with his thumb to the window behind the bed.

"Why- never mind, don't answer that." He watched as the bigger male leaned against the side of the bed and sat up straighter. "So, what prompted you to invade my bed?"

"I dunno," was the answer. "I couldn't really think of anywhere else to go, really." He grinned up at Roy.

"I didn't think homunculi were such happy creatures."

"We would be if people would get to know us first." Grudge clambered back up onto the mattress, and lay down across it on his back next to Roy. "If they'd give us a second chance."

* * *

To be continued

A/N: I thought the story was getting bit too serious, so I tried to add some comic relief... and there will be a lemon next chappie, I promise. Hopefully it'll be a good one... I'll do my best! Till then, lemme know what you think!


	7. Part Seven

Succensere

Chapter Seven

Hi, wow sorry this took so FREAKING long... oi. I finally received inspiration to continue, thanks to Toushirou-chan, who wrote an amazing review! Yay! The song in this chapter is _A Neverending Dream _by Cascada (a totally amazing techno artist). I recommend listening to it while reading this, as that's what I did while writing it. Plus it's just an amazing song! It fits this so well...

* * *

Roy blinked a few times at the rumpled man currently occupying the other half of his bed. He watched the mismatched eyes as they flicked back and forth, taking in the ceiling tiles as if they were the most interesting thing in all of Central. The homunculus smiled wistfully, shoving his hands under his head.

"Um... Okay." Roy was tired; he didn't really want to deal with convoluted things like values. Despite the heaviness in his gaze, he found himself looking the other male up and down hungrily. He suddenly felt his own age, though it barely showed on the outside. Grudge looked no older than Maes had when he had...

Died.

Jesus, he had to remember that this was NOT the man he'd fallen for, that he'd missed so much... But he looked just the same. "Do you remember?" He blurted out after a few long moments of silence.

"Hmm?" Grudge looked sleepily at Roy, the tiny movement for all the world screaming that yes, this was Maes Hughes, returned from the grave. That he was all he had been and would be all the General had ever dreamed.

"I said, do you remember? Any of it? Anything about..." He looked away. The raven haired man couldn't finish. "Never mind, man, just... Nevermind." He ran a hand through the black mess on his head, his matching eyes slowly creeping up on the other male's gaze, hoping for an answer anyway.

"Yeah." the homunculus gave a lopsided grin. "Yeah, I remember it all. You don't want to know how." His eyes moved to Roy's right hand, the one in his hair. To the ring. He had just opened his mouth to speak when Roy noticed what he was looking at, and started playing with it.

"You know, I never told you... I had the money that night. I- the night you told me you'd proposed. " Roy looked at the other male, and Grudge sat up, arms straight out behind him for support. Worry lined his features. "I had this..." The general slipped the ring from his finger and held it between them for a moment before putting it back. "I'd forgotten and I just froze."

"Oh, Roy..." Grudge shifted to hold the now silent male. He'd had no idea, Mustang realized. Even now, with the power he seemed to have to see into minds, he'd not seen it. But that was over now. They were being given a second chance. He could finally show Maes how he truly felt. Looking up at him, he saw only the golden hue of his left eye, and when he inhaled, only the faint scent of the human he'd been created from was recognized by his senses. When he watched him move, all he saw were remnants of the past motions Maes had made.

He could pretend, if he wanted. And he so wanted.

_I'm waiting for the night drifting away_  
_On the waves of my dreams to another day_  
_I'm standing on a hill and beyond the clouds_  
_The wind's blowing still and catching my doubts_

Mustang's hand moved to hold Maes's chin, to bring it down and capture the other's lips; he tasted faintly of cherries. He twisted in his friend's grip, straddling his waist, and pressed himself flush to the broad chest in front of him. Flattening his hands over it, he started to lick and nip at the muscled neck and throat before him, working slowly on building a purple mark on the soft skin there. He felt Hughes move to allow him better access, and savored the rough hands moving strongly over his back. A shiver racked him as a finger trailed down his spine, pushing him closer to the man.

_I'm hunting all the night the slave to my dream_  
_An illustrated scene descends in the steam_  
_We're playing for the fights emotional games_  
_I'm turning off my eyes and hiding my shame_

Maes let a small moan escape when Roy ran his hands down to his hips and rocked against him, biting his lip nervously and looking away. The smaller male allowed himself to be thrown onto his back and covered protectively as the other man expertly moved his mouth over the smooth skin at his collarbone. He wriggled out of his shirt, letting Hughes keep going as far as he wanted, and worked his lover's top off, roving hands memorizing every curve and dip in the muscles as if he'd never see them again.

_A neverending dream, a dream of you_  
_I believe I received a sign of you_  
_Tonight I want to hide my feelings too_  
_As you do and I wanna be with you_

The General ground against the Leiutenant, finally letting on how much he wanted him. He could feel how tight his pants were getting. His vision danced when his friend kissed him deeply, tongues dancing to a tango of their own devising. His fingers worked circles into Maes's chest and back, slowly making their way to his belt and removing it, while the other put his weight on the knee that rested between Mustang's legs and held him closer. His free hand wandered treacherously up and down the onyx eyed male's side, making his breath hitch.

_A neverending dream, a dream of you_  
_I believe I received a sign of you_  
_Tonight I want to hide my feelings too_  
_As you do and I wanna be with you_

Hughes Grinned into Mustang's neck when he felt the man's wandering hand working its way toward his hard length. Not long after he felt the soft palm of Roy's hand on his member, he nipped one last time and returned the favor, running a finger the length of his friend's chest and abdomen, straight under the cloth and to his destination. He pumped the man slowly a few times, a thumb on the tip just slightly grazing it, before he simply did away with Roy's pants altogether. Mustang moaned loudly as the warm wetness of his lover's mouth came down on his entire length.

_I'm waiting for the night drifting away_  
_On the waves of my dreams to another day_  
_I'm standing on a hill and beyond the clouds_  
_The wind's blowing still and catching my doubts_

The need within him grew as Maes continued his ministrations, and he begged for Hughes to just take him; he couldn't wait any longer. Licking his lips, he ripped the other male's pants away, breathing heavily. He slid his eyes closed as his lover prepared him, distracting him with a kiss so deep it threatened to drown him. A gasp escaped as Maes filled him, and for a nanosecond his world stopped dead before he began to buck onto the man above him, sending waves of sensation up his spine and over his skin.

_I'm watching all the flowers dying away_  
_In heated breath of life at the dawning day_  
_I'm waking up in spring and kissing your face_  
_The sweet moving thing I feel your embrace_

He captured Maes's lips with his own as they moved, and Hughes responded with a hand to Mustang's hard length, pumping it in time with his thrusting and dragging a moan from Roy's throat. He rocked into his lover with all he had, moving faster and harder with each repetition. Relishing the searing heat of the Flame Alchemist, he lost himself in taking Mustang. Every inch of Hughes was on fire; nothing had ever felt like this. He moved to bite and suckle at Roy's neck, loving the undertone of char and cinnamon it left on his tongue.

_A neverending dream..._

Roy felt the explosion building at the base of his spine, like a snake curling to strike, when Maes shifted a tiny bit and hit him just right. He let out a wanton wail as the leiutenant pounded into that spot over and over. It was all he could do to clutch at the man above him and try to see beyond the stars that were dancing behind his eyes. It sprang so quick he barely had time to scream his lover's name as he came all over the both of them, tidal waves of pleasure washing him away. He felt Hughes filling him with his own spent seed, the sudden rush of warm liquid sending an aftershock to rack his body.

_A neverending dream, a dream of you_  
_I believe I received a sign of you_  
_Tonight I want to hide my feelings too_  
_As you do and I wanna be with you_

"Mm... Maes..." Roy groaned with a sleepy smile. "I love you so, so much..."

_A neverending dream, a dream of you_  
_I believe I received a sign of you_  
_Tonight I want to hide my feelings too_  
_As you do and I wanna be with you_

"Yeah," Grudge replied with a sad smile. Roy was snuggled asleep in his arms before he said the last, a tear slipping to nest in the General's hair: "But I'm not him..."

_A neverending dream a dream of you_  
_I believe I received a sign of you_  
_Tonight I want to hide my feelings too_  
_As you do and I wanna be with you..._


End file.
